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Baby Huey – The Baby Huey Story: The Living Legend

The Baby Huey Story: The Living Legend is the only album to be released by American funk-soul singer Baby Huey. Assembled and released posthumously in 1971, Huey was already deceased before the release despite the title describing him as a “Living Legend”.

In 1970, while recording for his debut album Baby Huey suffered a heart attack and passed away unexpectedly. Some time after his manager Marv Stuart (aka Marv Heinman) and Curtis Mayfield gathered up what had already been recorded, added several previously recorded instrumental tracks and managed to gather up enough to be released as an album.

The Baby Huey Story has gone on to become a cult classic among soul musicians and hip-hop fans. In particular it’s single "Hard Times" has been sampled many times, by artists such as Ice Cube, A Tribe Called Quest, and Ghostface Killah, and was also covered by John Legend & The Roots in 2010 for their album Wake Up! – Wiki

“Further lore that catapults The Living Legend from good to great: the production was helmed by Curtis Mayfield, reason enough to make it near essential, and is highlighted by three of his compositions, "Mighty Mighty," which Mayfield and the Impressions recorded a few years earlier; "Running," a classic Mayfield cut that can only be heard here ripped to glorious bits by a band that is trying to let every member solo; and "Hard Times," which Mayfield himself would revisit on his 1975 album There's No Place Like America Today, although Baby Huey's razor-edged reading remains the definitive version -- no small caveat considering Mayfield not only wrote the tune, but could rightfully be considered one of the architects of soul to boot.” - AllMusic